According to the will of a majority of athletes, Olympic participants should remain prohibited from protest actions on the winners' podium and in the arenas. Therefore, rule 50 of the Olympic Charter should remain unchanged in this regard, said the International Olympic Committee on Wednesday after a survey by its athletes' commission. “A very clear majority of the athletes think this is inappropriate,” said Commissioner Kirsty Coventry.
Specifically, 70 percent of the survey participants spoke out against the fact that appropriate expressions of opinion are allowed at the competition venues or at official ceremonies, it said. 67 percent want to adhere to the ban on such actions on winners' podiums.
Among other things, American and German athlete representatives recently wanted to increase the pressure on the IOC on this issue in the course of anti-racism protests at sporting events. Rule 50 prohibits any political, religious or racist demonstration or propaganda at the Olympics. Opponents of the rule mainly invoke freedom of speech as a human right.
However, the Athletes Commission warned that athletes could be politically influenced and forced into public actions against their will. The Olympic Games should be politically neutral and thus protect athletes from being politically exploited.
As further recommendations, the Athletes' Commission named increased information about the content of Rule 50 and the possible consequences of violations, as well as a different division of the passages in the Olympic Charter. The IOC executive agreed to the proposals of the athletes commission, which could be applied to the summer games in Tokyo.
